The present invention relates to an improved ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine, of the type which does not employ a distributor. Various forms of ignition apparatus which do not incorporate a distributor are known in the prior art, e.g. as described in Japanese patents 58-19853 and 58-57631. Generally, to achieve a high degree of accuracy of ignition timing control with such prior art types of ignition apparatus, ignition signal pulses are generated by detecting when the crankshaft of the engine has reached specific angles of rotation, with this detection being performed by utilizing a pulse generating transducer (referred to in the following specification and claims by the term "pulser") having a rotor which is fixedly mounted directly on the crankshaft. Thus, for each cylinder of the engine, an ignition signal pulse will be generated once in each revolution of the crankshaft, with an ignition spark being thereby generated. As a result, for each desired ignition spark which is generated, one redundant ignition spark will be produced, i.e. occurring each time the piston is in the region of the top dead center position following an exhaust stroke. The generation of these redundant ignition sparks results in an increased level of power dissipation in the ignition coil, and increased heat dissipation by the coil. This is especially true when a "high energy" type of ignition coil is utilized. It therefore becomes necessary to use a larger size of ignition coil, in order to ensure that the rate of heat dissipation from the coil will be sufficient. This prevents the overall ignition system from being made lightweight and compact.